When Chris Gervat was approached last year by former Davenport
(Mich.) University head coach Bob Clarkson to gauge his interest in
becoming the school's new head coach last spring, Gervat needed to
find out more about the climate of the program.

The last time he glimpsed the Panthers, Gervat was a part-time
assistant at Michigan State during the 2007-08
season when Sparty stomped Davenport. He knew nothing about
the Panthers' MCLA Division II national championship in '11, the
multiple trips to the national semifinals or the program's
impending move to MCLA Division I this coming spring.

"At first, I was like, 'Oh, great, a not very good club team,'"
admitted Gervat.

With a little research, he saw a clear opportunity in
front of him. Alas, figuring out which way the wind is blowing
– within a lacrosse program or otherwise – is nothing
new to Gervat.

He was the former meteorologist for WWMT, a CBS affiliate
serving the Grand Rapids-to-Kalamazoo corridor, and worked in a
similar role at previous stops before that. Gervat was also a
former NCAA Division I player (UMass) well-schooled in the world of
lacrosse (he's a Long Island native).

Weighing the possibility of trading in his weatherman
green-screen for a whistle ended up being an easier decision than
Gervat thought.

"Weather and lacrosse have always been my two passions and I
realized that this all happened for a reason," he said. "I knew I
needed to try this. After taking over on June 1, I haven't looked
back since. I love what I'm doing and I can't imagine still working
at my old job at this time."

Sure, he loves what he's doing now, but Davenport could be in
for a rude awakening in 2013.

The Panthers become the third former Division II national
champion in eight years to ditch the junior circuit in favor of an
MCLA-I move. The first two – San Diego and Montana –
disappeared nearly without a trace. The Toreros and Grizzlies have
combined for a 54-94 record since leaving D-II with only one
winning campaign (Montana in '08).

Are the Panthers ready to ensure history doesn't repeat?

"I've tried to blank that out," Gervat said. "I understand that
there are obstacles. Division I has better teams and bigger schools
and they have players who are quite good – in my opinion they
could play at NCAA Division I, II and III schools but haven't been
recruited. It is a big step up. I know the play is a lot different,
the speed is a lot different and the level of athlete is a lot
different. When I took over, I tried to change the culture a little
bit."

Clarkson, Gervat's predecessor, was known as a 'systems guy,'
according to Jordan Richtsmeier, who helped guide the Panthers to
its national title as a sophomore. Clarkson stressed conditioning
over the winter more than the spring, said senior middie Cody
Cross. It was more about recruiting high-end talent and
game-planning them for optimum results. It's tough to argue with
the outcome, but with the bump to MCLA-I, Gervat felt he needed to
raise the bar.

"We are viewing the players at Davenport as varsity lacrosse
players," Gervat said. "We're trying to make these kids a little
more disciplined in what they are doing and how they go about their
everyday life at school. And lacrosse has changed with the fact
that I've made it a lot harder."

"The workouts are way different this year," confirmed
Richtsmeier, now a senior. "Last year, fall was pretty relaxed;
just playing and learning the systems. Now we're in the weight room
at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday with 8 a.m. runs on Sunday. The
tempo is just much higher."

Within the first week of Gervat's regime, seven players handed
in their uniforms.

"I believe we had 14 pukers the first day," Gervat said. "After
that, the kids started buying in and seeing why we are pushing them
so hard. Why are we doing things like this? Why are we pushing
things to the limit in practice? Because in a game, [Division I
teams] aren't going to be backing off you. Everything has to be
game speed at all times. Once they bought into that, it has been
pretty smooth sailing."

"Every year, we have lost at least four to five kids, but
usually not that early," Cross said. "It's going to help us in the
long run because we're much more crisp without those guys messing
around all the time."

"It's a hard transition at times, but then again, we're making
the transition up to D-I," Richtsmeier said. "The competition is
better and the guys are bigger, faster and stronger, so we
understand that we have to do this to compete. That kind of helps
our willingness."

"Chris has the same goal as everyone else," added Cross. "I
appreciate what he's doing – pushing us hard – because
that's what we need if want success."

Last year, when the Panthers were Division II and eventually
made it to the national semifinals, they still took Michigan State
– an MCLA-I squad that nearly knocked off Cal Poly in the
quarters – to double overtime. That result raised
expectations for DU, but also put the teams on this year's schedule
on notice that the Panthers aren't a softy moving up a rung.

"The question is, how consistent can we stay? With the schedule
we put together, it's going to be hard," Gervat said.

Davenport will play Arizona and Arizona State, along with
Virginia Tech, Georgia and Clemson in addition to the likes of
Michigan State and Pittsburgh in the CCLA. The Panthers will be
underdogs in all of those contests.

"I'm a little nervous, but I think we'll do fine," Cross said.
"I plan on winning the championship, and I know the team does, too.
The expectations are still high here at Davenport."

There might be a couple of cloudy days for the Panthers in their
first year in MCLA-I, but with the talent returning and Gervat at
the helm, the forecast is for sunny skies ahead in Grand
Rapids.